WIP designs

Friday Roundup: Square Deal

What I’m Knitting

I finished the blanket square from last week and blocked it! I love, love, love the way it turned out. (Side note: I can’t get an accurate picture of this yarn’s color to save my life, even with post-processing fiddling. It’s actually more blue than green, although it looks the other way around here.)

The pattern was really fun to knit, although I guess I might be singing a different tune after I knit at least five more of them…

I have a couple of commissioned deadline projects coming up, so knitting pics might be thin on the ground here for a while. But I’ll try to get some sneak peeks!

What I’m Cooking

I made some lemon-blueberry muffins this week. My son and his little friend weren’t huge fans (maybe the lemon flavor is more of an acquired taste), but the adults DEVOURED them.

I also finally made homemade fried rice! It was so incredibly easy that I can’t believe I haven’t been doing it this whole time. Just stir fry some veggies, pop in some cooked rice, and pour a little soy sauce on top while you stir it for a few minutes. I served it with some vegetable gyoza from Trader Joes—mmmm.

What I’m Reading

I’m still working on Heir to the Empire (forgot how much I love this book!), but I should be wrapping it up today or tomorrow. The book I had on hold at the library is in, so I’ll have to decide whether to start that one or book 2 of the Thrawn trilogy next, hmmm.

And just because it’s Friday and we’ve been having such nice warm weather this week, here’s a bonus shot of a little boy who was really, really happy to finally get back out on the swings:

Friday Roundup: The Waiting is the Hardest Part

What I’m Knitting

As promised, I’ve been working away on the hat to match my Mystic Falls Mitts! I finally came up with a swatch that made me happy, so I cast on and got to work. This is just a quick phone snap, and obviously blocking is desperately needed here, but I think you can get the idea:

I haven’t exactly figured out how I want to do the decreases in the colorwork pattern yet (I know, I know, bad designer!), but I’ll have to work it out soon. That’s 1.5 repeats of the pattern in the picture there, and I don’t think I want to go much past 2 repeats before starting the crown shaping.

What I’m Cooking

I hadn’t made curry in a while, so I whipped up a veggie-filled red curry over rice for my weekly meal-for-a-crowd this week:

It was delicious, but then you can’t really go wrong with full-fat coconut milk curries. Mmmmm….

I also baked some banana-oat muffins this week, which fascinated my son. I put him in his high chair right next to me so he could see the whole procedure. And then he was introduced to the joy that is licking the spoon after the batter has been mixed (vegan baking means no raw eggs to worry about, bonus!):

He was not, however, a fan of waiting until the muffins were cool enough to eat before he got a taste.

What I’m Reading

After devouring the first book in the Naturals series, I moved on to two and three! I’m halfway through book three right now (the most recent one published) and it’s just as good as the first two—love it when that happens. I’m going to have some withdrawal when I finish this one…

Friday Roundup: Back in the Groove

What I’m Knitting:

I’ve been doing a whole lot of planning and swatching this week for two designs. One is for a submission that I can’t show you, but the other is a hat to match the Mystic Falls Mitts I released last fall. These ones (did I ever show off the final pics here? I lose track of these things…):

I knew I wanted the hat to have a similar feel, but not quite the same pattern. The mitts were an experiment in yarn dominance and required switching the dominant yarn halfway through the back colorwork. Since I’d have to do much more than two panels on the hat, switching yarns all the time could get really annoying, really fast. So I’m scrapping that idea for the hat and focusing on getting the colorwork swirls along with the square check pattern on the palms in there.

My swatch has been ripped out a few times and doesn’t look like much at the moment, but here’s an idea of how it might look (as long as I like the way the swatch comes out!):

What I’m Cooking

Remember the tasty vegan alfredo that I forgot to take a picture of last week? Well, I liked it so much that I made it again this week. Over some gluten-free pasta and veggies with some garlic bread on the side, it was delicious:

For my weekly meal-for-a-crowd, I made shepherd’s pie with a new recipe, one that used parsnips (really good!) and skipped the lentils. The big revelation was the vegan, gluten-free gravy I tried out to go on top. I figured it wouldn’t be that great, but it ended up being delicious! (Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.)

What I’m Reading

I finished the first book in a new YA series this week, The Naturals. It was really good, and I’ve already snagged the second one so I can keep going.

Friday Roundup: Not Much to See Here

What I’m Knitting:

I finished the large secret sweater project (yay!) and am working feverishly to get the pattern all written up by the deadline next week. So that means nothing new has been cast on, unfortunately. Hoping to rectify that with an instant gratification project tonight!

What I’m Cooking:

Look Ma, I actually cooked something this week! For my weekly vegan-meal-for-a-crowd, I went with a tried and true favorite: a soft taco bar. Cook up some peppers and onions, heat up some vegetarian refried beans, and provide lots of toppings (I wasn’t feeling the vegan cheese or Mexican rice, so that’s missing from my plate). Add homemade guacamole and chips on the side and it can’t miss.

I also discovered a much better way to heat lots of tortillas at once. I much prefer warm tortillas, but it’s a pain to microwave them or heat them on the stovetop if you’re doing more than 5-10. So I searched online and figured out that you can wrap stacks of 5 or so in aluminum foil and put them in the oven for 10 minutes. So much easier!

What I’m Reading

I finished Dangerous Lies (it was really good all the way to the end!) and am looking for my next read. I think a trip to the library is in order…

Friday Roundup: Greens and Browns

What I’m Knitting

I’ve doubled the progress on the sweater from last week:

It’s about to go on hold, though, because the Indie Design Gift-A-Long starts next week! (If you aren’t familiar with it, check out the Ravelry group for the annual event here. It’s awesome.) This is pretty much the only time of year I knit other people’s patterns anymore, so I’m really excited. I’ve already got a pair of yummy cabled fingerless mitts in my queue. I’m hoping to find a small pattern to try steeking for the first time, too!

Twenty of my patterns are included in the Gift-A-Long sale (25% off from Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 pm EST to Friday, November 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm), and all of my paid patterns are eligible to win prizes. Check out the details in the Ravelry group, and you can see the patterns I’ll be discounting with this direct link to my Ravelry bundle.

What I’m Cooking

For some reason, everything I cooked this week happened to be some shade of brown. It doesn’t make for very exciting photography, but everything was delicious nonetheless.

From my Appetite for Reduction cookbook challenge, this is a mushroom and cannellini bean dish flavored with wine and smoked paprika, served with caulipots (the author’s tasty mixture of mashed potatoes and cauliflower):

The leftover caulipots went really well with the next recipe, chili-lime rubbed tofu:

The tofu tasted really good, but it wasn’t crispy the way I like my baked tofu. I think it’s because I didn’t press the tofu to get all the water out before baking. I really have to remember to do that 20-30 minutes before I start the recipe.

And overripe bananas meant I had a good excuse to whip up some banana-oat muffins. I found this recipe that doesn’t have any refined sugar and used local maple syrup that we bought recently. They were SO GOOD.

What I’m Reading

After completing my tour through Jane Austen’s world, I picked up the second book in the Cormoran Strike mystery series and just finished it last night. It was so good! Although this series (written under a pseudonym) is completely different from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, it still has a lot of the same compulsive readability. I’m hoping to grab the third book in the series sometime today.

Friday Roundup: Beginnings, Sneak Peeks, and Comfort Food

What I’m Knitting

I finally got enough math done that I could cast on for the dolman-sleeve sweater I’m planning! I’m only a few rows through the ribbing, but look—photographic proof that I have an actual adult sweater on the needles:

We also went out yesterday into the chilly morning to attempt a photoshoot for the nautical-themed toddler sweater. My son did remarkably well, and I think we might have gotten the shots we needed! (Side note: wrangling a toddler on a lakefront path is extremely difficult, even for two people.)

Here’s a sneak peek:

What I’m Cooking

The weather turned chilly this week, which always makes me crave fatty comfort food! But I managed to stick to the low-fat vegan cookbook for three recipes.

This is tofu chimichurri (a herb marinade usually used on meat). It was yummy!

Broccoli potato chowder, in which I used parsnips for the first time ever (they’re pretty good!):

And Pasta de los Angeles, a Mexican-inspired pasta dish that was really tasty:

For my weekly meal for a crowd, I chucked low-fat out the window and whipped up a cashew-cream-laden potato corn chowder and homemade croutons to go on top. It was amazing. People couldn’t stop talking about it, even the non-vegans—I love it when that happens. :-)

What I’m Reading

Still making my way through Jane Austen’s catalog! I don’t know what it is about these books—I seem to be able to read them in half the time of other books of comparable size. This week I finished Northanger Abbey, started and finished Sense and Sensibility, and am most of the way through Mansfield Park. Just Emma and Pride & Prejudice to go (although I might skip P&P, having read it more often in the past…)

Friday Roundup: Vest in Progress, Lots of Cooking

What I’m Knitting

Remember the mystery cabled strip from last week? Here’s the big reveal:

I loved the sideways, pick up stitches construction of my Keelback Hat, so I wanted to try a garment this way. I like it so far! The band is sticking out from the stockinette fabric a bit too far for my taste, but blocking will almost certainly solve that. Just the armhole edgings to go, so I should have an FO to show off next week!

What I’m Cooking

I was busy this week! We went to a Talk Like a Pirate Day party on Saturday (so fun! And if you ever want to see a roomful of grown people squeal, bring a one-year-old to a party in full pirate costume). I made potato boats to fit the theme (vegan, of course) and even managed to make up a few sails. They were a hit!

I plowed through three more recipes on the cookbook challenge, too!

Chana Saag over rice (yummy!):

Sushi roll salad (not so yummy… actually, I’m counting this as my first real fail from this cookbook. The hubby and I didn’t really like it, and it was SUPER fiddly to make. Think I’ll just stick with real sushi rolls in the future. But hey, at least it’s pretty…)

And roasted red pepper/tomato soup with sweet potato biscuits. My son LOVED the biscuits—I think they’re his new favorite food.

For my Wednesday dinner-for-a-crowd meal, I made quinoa-stuffed peppers. OMG, these were amazing. Somehow the quinoa, black bean, and corn filling with Mexican spices managed to be almost ground-beef like. I’d make these all the time, but it gets a little expensive with the peppers. I’ll have to keep an eye out for sales!

What I’m Reading

I finished the next two books in the Tiffany Aching series, Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight. They were so good! This series, unlike so many others, gets better and better with each book. I can’t wait to read the new one, the last in the series.

Friday Roundup: Uh oh…

What I’m Knitting

So I was pretty happy with the progress I made on the nautical-themed toddler sweater this week… until I took a good look at my WIP after binding off the cuff on the first sleeve.

It looks cute, but also out of proportion to me—that’s a long sleeve for such a short body! I went pattern diving on Ravelry last night and came up with every number imaginable for toddler sweater body and sleeve lengths. There’s clearly no standard. So what I’m planning to do is try it on my son when he wakes up from his nap and adjust accordingly. I’m thinking I’ll need to add some rows to the body (which will work out okay since I think I’d like more blue before the ribbing anyway).

This is one of those times when I’m soooo happy I knit this sweater top down!

What I’m Cooking

Still going strong on my cookbook challenge, but I only managed two recipes from it this week. First, a spicy blue potato and corn salad. Something I’d never make normally (blue potatoes were not exactly on my regular shopping list), but it was really good! I also used canned chipotles for the spicy part—another first!

The second one from the cookbook was a vegetable korma. It called for garam masala, which I couldn’t find pre-made at my grocery store, so I made my own with cumin, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, and a few other spices. Indian food purists would scoff, I’m sure, but I thought it was pretty good!

I liked the korma, but I’m a little spoiled by full-fat curries, so it did feel like it was lacking something. Next time I make it, I think I’ll use full-fat coconut milk instead of light.

I went off cookbook for my Wednesday meal for a crowd. Sometimes I absolutely crave comfort food, so I tried a new-to-me green chile mac and “cheese” recipe from Minimalist Baker. It was amazing (maybe because I’ve been eating all this low-fat stuff, haha). I served it up with some simple roasted broccoli and some toasted crumbled tortilla chips on top for crunch:

What I’m Reading

I’m well into my friend’s manuscript and loving it so far! It’s fun to read things well ahead of publication, but it’s tough when you want to share it with everyone you know and can’t….

Friday Roundup: Decisions, Decisions

What I’m Knitting

The 3/4 sleeves for the sweater in progress are now done! So that means I’m ready to join and start raglan shaping:

I have to figure out how I want to do the raglan lines. I’m not a huge fan of the simple p2tog/ssp decreases for reverse-stockinette sweaters, so I’ll have to play around a bit and see what I want to do. Stay tuned!

What I’m Cooking:

Vegan, gluten-free stuffed peppers (with quinoa and zucchini and lots of other good stuff). They were very tasty, but next time I’ll cook them longer–the peppers themselves were a little tough.

An easy weekday stir fry over rice, with white asparagus. It was tasty, but honestly, I didn’t notice much of a difference from regular asparagus. But isn’t it pretty?

And faced with a banana tree full of overripe fruit, I made banana muffins. We were out of walnuts, so I went with almonds. They were really good! I might make them this way again next time.

What I’m Reading

I finally finished The Raven Boys (that ending! OMG!) and started the sequel, The Dream Thieves. It’s excellent so far:

Friday Roundup: Yarn Dominance

What I’m Knitting:

I’m working on some swatches for new designs in a truly outstanding yarn that I wish I could show you… but I also made some progress on the Yellowstone mitts re-knit this week.

Remember that yarn dominance issue that caused the rip and re-knit a few weeks ago? Well, I’m really glad I did it. Here’s a shot of the version with the wrong yarn dominance (e.g., the motif color not being held in the correct hand on each side) next to the new one. The current one needs some blocking after its frogging, but I can really see a difference in how well the motif stands out!

What I’m Cooking:

I was on a pasta kick this week… so that meant vegan cream sauce and Pad Thai. At least the Pad Thai was made with rice noodles, right?

My big Wednesday meal was a baked potato bar this week. Pretty basic, but I jazzed it up with homemade vegan queso, broccoli, and chili:

Now THAT’S a baked potato. (With McCormick Bac’N Bits! They just happen to be vegan–who knew, right?)

What I’m Reading:

I finished Devine Intervention (which was a very fun read!) and am between books at the moment. I love that delicious moment when the whole world of books is open to you. I have a To Read list as long as my arm, but most of them are new enough that the library doesn’t have them, so I think a bookstore trip is in order.